Everything has soul; everything and everyone is sacred. Even the most sour of life's "lemons" are spiritual,add zest to life. Postings cover many topics: contemporary culture, religion, church, politics, daily happenings from simple to complex.Psychology,spirituality,religion and feminism blend insights—no sugar added.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Lucy

December 13th. St. Lucy's Day.

Lucy is know as the patron saint of people with poor or no eyesight. Her name means "light." Little is known historically about Lucy except that she died for her refusal to deny her Christian faith. Details include her defiance of an arranged marriage which inspired her angry proposed husband-to-be to betray her Christian faith to the authorities during the Diocletian persecutions.

You could call it martyrdom on Lucy' part, submitting to death for her ideals, or you could call it what else is new in the world of violence against women? Women are injured, abused, oppressed and, yes, killed, for their politics, religious beliefs or just plain femaleness. How dare we exist!Perhaps Lucy saw beyond promises and assurance and obedience to the ways of her time. Perhaps she saw beyond what the physical eye could see into a spiritual death worse than biological death.

All Lucy wanted to do was give her money to the poor and her life to the service of Godde, a deity who created her free and worthy as a woman.What I admire in Lucy is her courage to stand up and be counted at dire risk.

I think of Lucy's day as one of our personal family saint days, a day when three years ago, thanks to the courage of telling and hearing the truth in love, something transformative happened, something saving.

I think of a granddaughter Lucia (LuLu or Luci) who has bright eyes and the chutzpah to go with it. You know when she is around. She's only four and not afraid to be.

I think of a friend named Christie who is legally blind and has been able to design, implement, and raise money to support a day program for senior citizens she cares for and can't see.

Christie prays for the strengthening of her third eye AND the restoration of her actual vision which has been declared a medical impossibility. It takes guts to stand up and be counted before Godde with your honest desires. No fudging. No goody goody prayers like: It would be nice if I could see, but other people have it much worse off, and look at all the blessings I have; besides Godde has greater concerns and work than little old me.

Truth in prayer is as essential (not to outcomes but to the strengthening of your relationship with the divine) in prayertalk as it is in peopletalk. Lucy and all those we see as holy on church calendars and in our personal lives did that. It's why there are revered.

Thank you St. Lucy, Christie, Lucia and all of you who have sight beyond sight and are brave enough to tell it like it is even without hard visual evidence and guarantees.

About Me

I am an Episcopal priest in the Boston area, author of "Spiritual Lemons" and "The God Between Us," published by Augsburg Books and a memoir, published in 2016: God Is Not A Boy's Name: Becoming Woman, Becoming Priests. I have seven vocations and counting: survivor, overachiever,mother and grandmother of blended family of 7 children and 11 grandchildren, recovering codependent,pastoral counselor/spiritual director,author and maybe little old lady with chutzpah. INFJ type. #5 Enneagram, which means at best I'm a wise woman and at worst I'm a know-it-all. Education for Ministry mentor since 1984. 1/4 Jewish. Favorite way to be a priest: preside at an improv eucharist in a small group. Favorite heretical theology:Pelagianism incarnation. Favorite spirituality: Celtic Christianity.Current aspiration: to get my theological ideas into the mind of the church. Essay "Electric Salvation" from memoir, won fifth prize in 2009 national Writers Digest competition You may contact me at lyngbrakeman@gmail.com Blog: www.spirituallemons.blogspot.com